Well-drained, loamy and light alluvial soils with pH 6.0 to 7.0 are ideal for proper growth and development of French bean.

Most of the French bean varieties are day neutral and sensitive to high temperature and frost. The French bean seeds do not germinate in cold weather. In order to obtain a good pod/ seed set, the mean day temperature should not exceed 300C

French bean varieties are classified in two groups Viz., bush or dwarf type and pole or climbing type. Some varieties suitable for the region are listed below
Bush type –Arka Komal, Contender
Pole Type- Meghlaya Local Selection, Naga Local & Manipuri

For preparation of field, 2-3 ploughing followed by planking to make the land weed free and getting good tilth of soil.

Green pod (vegetable) purpose
Low land: February- March
Upland: August- 1st week of September

Flat bed sowing: Seed should be sown at a row spacing of 30-40 cm keeping 15-20 cm distance from plant to plant.
Bun sowing (Raised bed): Seed should be sown on bun (raised bed) having 60-80 cm width and 20-30 cm height at a row spacing of 30-40 cm keeping 15-20 cm distance from plant to plant.

Seed rate depends mainly on methods of sowing, size of seed and nature of the crop growth.However, the general seed rates of French bean are as follows:
Bush type: 50 - 60 kg/ha
Pole type: 25 - 30 kg/ha

French bean responds well to application of lime and fertilizers. Application of lime @ 500 kg/ha in furrow/pits 2 weeks before sowing every year improves the growth and yield of French bean in the acid soils of north east India In addition to 20-25 t. of farmyard manure, 50 kg N, 75 kg, P2O5 and 75 kg K2O are recommended. Half of N along with full P and K should be applied as basal dose at the time of making ridges and furrows or one or two weeks after germination. Apply remaining dose of N, one month after first application.

In NEH Region, French bean is generally grown as rainfed crop during pre-rabi season (August- September) in upland conditions. However, under longer dry spell one irrigation may be given at flowering stage to get higher yield. In Pre-kharif season (Feb- March), French bean is grown in lowland or medium upland requires assured irrigation because of very low rainfall during this period. 2-3 irrigations are sufficient to get higher yield. First irrigation may be given at 2-3 leaf stage and 2nd and 3rd irrigation may be given at branching and flowering stages, respectively.

Management of weed through cultural practices is safe and involves low inputs. When weeds are controlled by hoeing and hand weeding in the first half of the season, the increased canopy cover suppress the weeds.

Under upland conditions, French bean is grown after maize. After maize harvest, the maize stalks should be used for mulching purpose in between the two rows of the French bean. In lowland, cropping sequence of rice French bean is recommended. French bean helps in increasing cropping intensity because of its shorter growth duration.

75 – 90 days depending upon varieties and sowing time

Green pod
Tender pod becomes ready for harvest at 50-55 days after sowing (DAS) in bush type varieties and 55-60 DAS in pole type varieties. Pods should be harvested at 3-4 days interval when they attain full size to get quality produce
Seed purpose
August planted crop is very good for seed production as the chance of coinciding with rain during harvest is very meagre. For seed purpose, time of harvesting play a very important role, as premature harvesting results in poor quality seed, while delayed harvesting may cause in-situ germination in case of heavy rainfall. In pole type varieties, mature pods should be harvested twice. First harvesting should be done when two-third pods look dry and the second harvesting when 90 percent of the remaining pods look dry. In bush type varieties, harvesting can be done once due to their determinate growth and synchronisation in pod maturity.

A good crop of French bean yields about 10-15t/ha (green pods) and seed yield of about 1.5t/ha.